Make a Wish
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: The Triforce was said to grant the wishes of anyone who touched it. It was an object that had led to Hyrule's destruction and the formation of the Great Sea, and a series of events that had led to the scattering of its components once again. Aryll didn't know if they could be found. And at the end of the day, she didn't really see a need for them to be.


**Make a Wish**

"And then, me hearties, our heroes sailed off to find a new land. And who knows, maybe they found it."

It was going well, Aryll thought. The children were in rapt attention. The story was nearly over. Once she finished it, the true party would begin, her job would be over, and she'd be able to put her rupees to work.

"And that, young scallywags, is the end of our story. And who knows? As you grow up, someday, you may have stories of your own to tell."

The children cheered. Some of their parents gave Aryll suspicious looks, as if to accuse her of trying to get others to follow her "pirate lifestyle." Either way, her job was done. The rupees were her. She watched as Maggie beckoned the children to the table that had been set up, filled with everything from berries from the Forest Haven, lobsters from Dragonroost Island, and a manner of assorted treats that all tasted sweet, delectable, and would likely to send the children into a sugar frenzy before the party was over.

_By which time I'll be far away._

Petra had turned five today, though Aryll had only known the boy when she'd sailed to Windfall Island a week ago, learning that his parents wanted to throw a party on Northern Triangle Island, that Maggie was willing to cover the expenses, and that some of those expenses would be in the form of payment to her as an entertainer. To a pirate (or buccaneer, as Aryll kept reminding them). With the _Seagull _in dire need of repairs, Aryll had accepted. If the people were willing to tolerate Maggie's eccentricities (not the least of these was having a moblin for a husband), then she supposed they'd stomach a "pirate" (not wanting to jeopardize her booty, Aryll had decided not to correct their terminology). So, as everyone was singing happy birthday, she walked over to get her loot. A large wooden chest that, like every other large chest, shone with a golden light every time it was opened. And in this case a silver light too, courtesy of the silver rupee that was inside.

"Squawk!"

Aryll felt something land on her shoulder. She didn't give him a second glance.

"Squawk!"

"Yes, Larry, we're going," she murmured to the seagull. "Party's over."

Aryll pocketed the rupee. She called out to the guests that she was leaving, but no-one seemed to mind, all of them cheering as Petra blew out all his candles. Briefly, she considered staying. There was grass on the island, and Link had told her how often grass contained rupees. Briefly fingering her own cutlass, she wondered if she should try again.

"Squawk!"

"Good idea."

Aryll started walking. Link had either been exceptionally lucky in his finding of rupees, or he'd extracted every rupee the Great Sea had to offer. The grass yielded nothing. The crew of the _Seagull _could sail for weeks without finding a treasure chest on the seafloor. And with all of Ganondorf's monsters either dead or gone into hiding, there was a depression in the whole monster economy thing. At the end of the day, Aryll supposed, her brother had done too good a job.

_And I was the one who started it! I mean, sure, I was kidnapped, but you'd think I'd get a bit of return for my investment!_

"Squawk!"

Larry took her out of such thoughts. She couldn't think ill of her brother. There was no reason to. And as she hadn't seen him for over fifteen years, with her grandmother having passed away ten years ago, the only thoughts she could spare were ones of hope. That he and Tetra were safe. That they'd found a new land. And that her brother would stop being so clueless and-

"Aw, you're leaving?"

_Huh?_

Aryll turned around, having felt something tugging at her dress. She looked down seeing Petra. Two plates of cake were in his hands, one of them already having had a large chunk taken out of it.

"Sorry kiddo," Aryll said. "Places to go, people to see, I…wait? Is that for me?"

"Well, yeah. It's my birthday, but-"

Aryll took the plate. In one bite, the cake was half gone.

_Oh, that's good. That's really good._

Grandma had made good cakes, the buccaneer reflected. After she'd returned to Windfall after her escapade, she'd made four more before the sea took her. And even now, in her early twenties, Aryll still had a sweet tooth.

_That's so…good…_

"Squawk!"

_Shut up Larry._

"Um…don't pirates usually have parrots?" Petra asked.

"Huh?" Aryll asked, scooping up cake with a finger.

"I said, I thought pirates had parrots," the boy said. "Not seagulls."

Aryll would have scowled if she wasn't so focussed on getting the cake into her mouth. Bad enough that Petra had called her a pirate, but she got the same accusations from every pirate, buccaneer, and privateer she met on the Great Sea, that she obviously couldn't afford a talking parrot and had settled for the next best thing.

"Could have got a parrot," Aryll said, feeding Larry some of her cake and watching the seagull whoop it down. "But I got something even better."

"Uh-huh."

Petra didn't understand, but Aryll didn't mind. The truth of the matter had been that she'd used Larry to scout around after using a hyoi pear, only the damn bird had refused to leave her after she'd scouted out the island before her. One thing led to another and before she knew it, Larry had joined the crew of the _Seagull_ and went on to show that birds understood irony. It meant that whenever she visited Outset Island the seagulls at her lookout were a bit jealous, but it didn't bother her too much.

"So, the story," Petra said. "Is it true? Really?"

"Well, let's see…a story of how a brave boy sailed all over the Great Sea to defeat an evil sorcerer, becoming friends with a buc…I mean, pirate, along the way?" Aryll asked. "And how they found a lost kingdom beneath the waves? What do you think?"

"Squawk!"

_Larry, please!_

"Oh I bet it's real! I bet it's real, and I'll find the lost kingdom too! I'll find that sorcerer and give a good ol' punch on the-"

"Language, dear," Aryll heard his mother call out.

"Aw mum!"

Aryll giggled. She wondered if she'd regret that, whether giggling was against the Buccaneer's Code (if it was against a Pirate Code, she didn't mind). In many ways, Petra reminded her of herself. Of her days on Outset. Even her brother in a sense – he'd been five once, though she could barely remember him at such an age.

Of course, as time went on, Petra would likely stop believing, and/or see the holes in her story. Link had told her everything that had happened when he and Tetra had resurfaced from Hyrule. But she'd still toned the story down for the children. Nothing too drastic, but she'd told it so that no-one actually died, had portrayed Ganondorf as a generic villain rather than someone who, judging from Link's account, could only be described as broken…and she'd also left it open that maybe Hyrule could be found again. Even if that would never happen unless her brother succeeded in the task he'd set out to do all those years ago.

Briefly, Aryll's gaze lingered on the statue that had once housed Din's Pearl. The pearl had long since been returned to the rito, what with the Tower of the Gods having sunk along with everything else. What if it _had _remained in the world, she wondered? Would it be a tribute to history, to spur the people of the Great Sea to greater feats? Or a shackle to bind them to the past?

"And what about the Triforks, huh?" Petra asked. "Where'd it go? Huh? Huh?"

"Huh?" Aryll asked.

"Squawk!"

"I asked about the Triforks," Petra repeated. "Where'd it go after the king made his wish? Huh?"

"I…don't know…"

"Ah, come on!"

Aryll bit her lip. She could deal with a mispronunciation. But indeed, what _had _happened to the Triforce, she wondered? It had split after the king made his wish, and its courage and wisdom shards hadn't returned to Link or Tetra. Were they waiting to be discovered? Or had they been washed away along with Hyrule?

"Bet I can find it," Petra exclaimed. "I'll find it! Then I'll have hundred wishes! No, a thousand! I'll…I'd wish to have a birthday every day!"

Aryll glanced at Larry. Larry glanced at Petra. Petra wasn't looking at anything in particular, instead jumping around like a maniac.

_Or maybe the sugar's kicked in._

Either way, the conversation was over. It was now time for presents.

Still, Aryll remained. Otherwise ignored by the guests, she walked over to the Goddess Statue. She ran her hand over its smooth, stone surface. She looked at it. The eyes of the maiden looked back at her.

"Squawk?"

The buccaneer ignored Larry. She kept one hand on the statue while reaching for the right side of her belt. On the left was her sheathed cutlass – a present from Orca before he do went to the hereafter. On the right was her telescope. Hers. But in a way, the last link she had to her brother. No pun intended.

_You were here, weren't you? All those years ago…_

The goddesses were cruel, Aryll reflected. They'd created the Triforce. They'd let wishes be granted with its power, uncaring as to whether those wishes were for good or ill. They'd answered the prayers of their people, only to do so in a way that robbed many of their lives, and all of their homes. They'd kept it in stasis, content with letting King Daphnes suffer in mental agony all those years. Even Ganondorf was not without sympathy, she reflected. His actions were un-condonable. But he too had suffered the same fate of her ancestors. Robbed of everything he'd worked for. Yearned for…

The goddess statue stared at her. A relic of the past. Averting its gaze, Aryll turned to the children. Watched Petra open his presents. Watch his sister steal some cake while he wasn't looking. Watched as Maggie clapped along with everyone else, moblin or no moblin. She watched the future. Children who could grow and shape their own destinies, not be bound to the past or drawn into it. Like she and her brother had.

_Keep sailing brother, _Aryll thought, squeezing the telescope again. _Keep sailing._

With that, Aryll turned to leave. The _Seagull _was waiting for her.

"Squawk?" Larry asked.

"Wherever the wind takes us Larry," Aryll said, getting into her rowboat.

"Wherever the wind takes us…"


End file.
